The time has come for me to reupholster the seats in my 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 project truck. I already cleaned it up a bunch as you saw in the previously, but that was just temporary. The gift of a commercial sewing machine from my Mom was the trigger that launched this project.
Previous Update: 2000 GMC Sierra Restomod: Starting the Interior Overhaul – Part 5
Next Update: 2000 GMC Sierra Restomod: Center & Passenger Seat Upholstery – Part 6B
The Sewing Machine Gift
If you read my previous post about this, you may want to skip this section but I want to include it in this post, since it is very relevant. My Mom told me one day that she wanted to give me a gift, something that will help me achieve something that is being prevented by a financial barrier. After thinking for a bit, I realized that having a commercial sewing machine is the piece of equipment that can help me very much with my project truck.
What made this even more meaningful is that this wasn’t just a gift of a tool—it was a gift of opportunity. A sewing machine like this opens the door to future upholstery projects, and maybe even a new skill I can use beyond this truck. It felt like one of those pivotal moments where something clicks, and suddenly the project becomes real.
After doing a bit of research, I decided to go with the entry level, JUKI DDL-8700 sewing machine. It is not the greatest but it will do the job I need it to do. Plus the price was under $1000.
The Plan
What I need to do is come up with a plan. Here are this things I need to figure out:
- The design of the seats
- What materials and supplies I need
- Where to get the materials and supplies
- How to put it all together into a nice looking set of seats
I really expected to spend some time sketching and researching before I come up with a final design, but to my surprise, this stage took very little time, thanks to ChatGPT.
I threw in a few prompts, expecting to need multiple revisions and trial runs, but the initial concepts were surprisingly on point. What could have taken days of sketching and second-guessing was streamlined into a fun back-and-forth with the AI, saving me a ton of time and giving me a visual target I felt good about.
Design Help From The AI
About this time, the AI tools have become usable and pretty helpful. I’ve been playing with MidJourney and ChatGPT image generation tools for a bit now and knew it could generate some good quality images. So I got this idea, to tell it what I like and see if it can generate some interior mockups for me.
I knew that I wanted the seats to be black and red leather, with red stitching and I really liked the diamond stitch look. I also really liked the look and feel of high quality fabric seats, but I wasn’t sure how to work that into the design. I even considered at one time to make the entire seats from quality fabric instead of leather. But that was an ongoing debate in my mind until the last minute. Leather won but not entirely.
So I went to ChatGPT and wrote this:
What it came back to me with was unreal. I was honestly shocked! Below are the 4 images that it replied with.
That was it. ChatGPT nailed it. These 4 mockups, embody the exact feeling I was looking for from the design. Obviously, not one single mockup above holds the final design, but between them all, I see the elements I want in the seats.
I was able to take elements from each—some had the perfect use of color, others nailed the shape or stitching style—and piece them together in my mind. It felt a bit like being a director of my own custom interior studio, pulling ideas from multiple drafts and blending them into a single vision. This is Amazing!
So what now? I mocked up the exact design from the ideas i got from the AI. Here is what it looks like:
The Materials & Supplies
To get started, I will need to source some materials and supplies. But first I need a list of what I will need to get.
Materials
- Black and red leather
- Black and red vinyl
- 1/4″ backing foam
- 1/2″ backing foam
- Black and red string
Supplies
- String
- Heavy duty scissors
- Tailors chalk
- Upholstery Glue
- Glue spray gun
Sourcing The Materials And Supplies
Finding these materials was not too hard. We do have Google after all. But my main clue on where to get the leather and vinyl was from about a thousand videos I watched on YouTube. I think I watched all the videos Richard from Old School Auto Upholstery Techniques channel has posted. I learned so much from his videos. He is the one that mentioned many times that he gets his leather and vinyl from Keyston Bros. Conveniently, we have one in Seattle, not too far from where I am. In fact, they have a sales rep that comes to my garage every 3rd Thursday and brings me stuff.
Keyston Bros. has everything I would need. The leather is great, and I can buy half a hide or a full hide. All kinds of automotive and marine vinyl. All the supplies you ever need. This will be great.
Leather
With the leather, it was a no brainer, I went with Paloma leather. I ordered half a hide of black (Paloma Leather Mahogany) and half a hide of red (Paloma Leather Red). This should be enough for me for both front seats and the back bench seat. This is because I’ll be using diamond stitched fabric panels in the middles of the seats, which will take up the majority of the seat surface, and I’ll be using vinyl on the sides and back of the seats.
This combo also makes it more practical. Leather in the high-contact areas keeps things looking and feeling upscale, while vinyl in less visible zones helps with keeping the cost down and durability where its needed. Plus, it’s easier to clean, which is a big deal for a truck that’s still being used like a truck.
I have to talk about the red leather. The color was off. When the leather showed up, I was concerned that the color was more dull and dark salmony and not just darker red that I expected. But since it was either this or the bright “classic” red which was way too bright for my taste (for this truck anyway). So I trusted the process. Later to find out that it looks amazing next to the black leather on the seats.
Vinyl
For the vinyl, I went with the same brand vinyl as the leather because they match the pattern so they can be next to each other and look about the same. Paloma vinyl has the same shades of color as the leather and is a quality vinyl. You can really tell the quality when you have it in your hand. I’m really happy I went with this brand.
Here is where the Paloma brand comes into play. Look at the photos below and see the difference between the leather and vinyl. The texture and color are almost undetectable. It’s perfect for projects where you use leather for work surfaces and vinyl where it doesn’t matter too much, like sides and back.
I have to tell you that doing it this way, you save enormous amount of money. At $350 to $400 per hide, I’d need 2 black hides and a full red one, that’s over a $1000. But doing it in combination like this, I only spent under $400 on the leather (half a hide of black and half a hide of red) and 2 yards of black vinyl at $30/yard and a yard of red. Big savings!
Fabric
For the fabric, I went with the Lerma Sangria black fabric with small red dots in it. This fabric feels very good and looks high quality. I love it!
Let me tell you a story, of how I found this fabric. I was very particular about the fabric I wanted to use on my seats. I knew what I wanted but didn’t know how to find it and what it was called. So, I went to an upholstery shop and actually got a quote on getting the seats reupholstered. While at the shop, I looked at all the different samples they had. They had the Lerma fabrics samples there and when I saw them and felt them, I knew this was what I needed. I took some photos and made sure to capture what the names and brand they were.
Funny thing is, I had no idea how much upholstery fabric varies until I had it in my hands. There’s a massive difference in how some of these feel—some are scratchy or look cheap under light, while others like the Lerma feel durable, and just premium. Seeing and touching the samples in person made all the difference.
Then I was able to find this exact fabric at Keyston Bros. Here are some other nice fabrics that I liked.
The Thread
For this project I needed some thread, so after doing a little research, I bought a big bobbin of black and red thread. I also really liked the look of thick red thread used for french stitch on seats. I didn’t want the stitching to fade into the background. I wanted it to pop just enough to catch your eye, but not so much that it overpowered the rest of the design. Thick thread like this gives that subtle-but-bold look that makes custom upholstery really stand out—especially when it’s done right. So I picked up a bobbin of thick red thread.
Black Thread
The black thread I got is AMANN GROUP 2163001-7020U – Outdoor-Pro 30 T90 V92, Poly FS16oz. In english, I think they call this thread a T90 – referring to the thickness of it. This thread feels incredibly strong and durable. When you pull on it, there’s no give—it’s built for outdoor and automotive applications, and that’s exactly what I wanted. No point in doing all this work just to have seams fall apart down the road. The T90 size gives me confidence that it’ll hold up to wear and tear, even in a daily driver like mine.
Red Thread
The red thread I got is the AMANN GROUP 2163000-7905U – Outdoor-Pro 30 T90 V92, Poly FS8oz. This one is also a T90 thread. The color match on this red thread is perfect—it complements the red leather and vinyl I picked out almost exactly. That was something I was nervous about, but when it arrived, I was relieved. I’ll be using this on areas where I want subtle contrast, like stitching on black panels, to add that custom, hand-built feel without going overboard.
Thick Red Thread
The thick red thread I got is the QTC Contrast – Bonded Nylon Scarlet 845707Q – T270. This one is referred to as T270. They also have a T230 which is pretty common for these thick threads. One thing you have to keep in mind is you cant use this thick thread on all machines… You need special needles that are large enough for this thick thread, and those needles done normally fit in all machines, including mine, that I will later find out.
I quickly learned that not all machines can handle this thread, and even with the right needle, getting the tension and stitch quality dialed in takes practice. But the payoff is huge—this thick contrast thread adds that bold, professional look you see in high-end customs. It’s one of those details that really makes a seat look finished and not just re-covered. I won’t be able to use it where I wanted to, but was able to use it in some areas, which is a big win.
On To The Fun Part
Now that we have all the materials and supplies ready to go, in the next post, I will go over the actual sewing process as I go from materials to an actual finished seat.
I’ll be documenting everything—successes, mistakes, tips I learn along the way—so if you’re thinking about trying something like this yourself, hopefully I can save you some time (and money). This is where things start to feel real. The materials are sitting in the garage, the sewing machine is humming, and now it’s time to bring this vision to life. Can’t wait to show you what happens next.
Previous Update: 2000 GMC Sierra Restomod: Starting the Interior Overhaul – Part 5
Next Update: 2000 GMC Sierra Restomod: Center & Passenger Seat Upholstery – Part 6B
Valik loves tinkering in the garage and is currently restoring a 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 truck. He also writes about the progress on this blog. When not in the garage, Valik is also a web developer and a blogger. I know, strange, a hand in two completely different worlds. And that is the way he likes to keep it.
